Apparatus for packing oil-cakes.



PATENTED MAR. 24,v 1903..

A. W; FRENCH. APPARATUS FOR PACKING OIL CAKES.

APPLIUATION FILED OUT. 7, 1901,

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1..

N0 MODEL.

mm. wumnuwon. 9.1:. I

m: mums mucus co PHOTQ-L PATENTBD MAR. 24, 1903.

. A. W. FRENCH. APPARATUS'POR PAGKING OIL CAKES.

' APPLIOIATYION FILED 00127, 1901.

K0 MODEL.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

an vusum No. 723,455. PATENTED MAR. 24, 1903.

A. W. FRENCH.

APPARATUS FOR PACKING OIL CAKES.

APPLIOATION FILED 00w. 7, 1901. 1

3 sums-su ar a.

no MODEL.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED w. FRENCH, or PIQUA, OHIO.

APPARATUS FOR PACKING OIL-CAKES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 723,455, dated March24, 1903.

Application filed October 7, 1901. Serial No. 77,755. [No model.

To all whom it may concern.- 7

Be it known that I, ALFRED W. FRENCH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Piqua, in the county of Miami and State of Ohio, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Packing Oil-Cakes,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates more particularly to a machine for packingoil-cakes into bags; but it is also applicable to other uses where it isdesired to pack a quantity of thin fiat cakes or other articles of ananalogous shape into bags. f

Oil-cakes are usually packed in the, bag in the form of a pile-that is,one on top of the other-with one or more cakes inserted edgewise at eachside of the pile between the side'edges of the piled cakes and theadjacent side of the bag, which edgewise cakes assist in tightly fillingthe bag and add to the neat appearance and compactness of the completedpackage.

' The object of the present invention is to provide a machine of simpleand inexpensive construction which will quickly and with little labor onthe part of the operator pack the bags in this manner by introducing thepile of cakes so arranged directly and as a whole into the bag.

Other objects will appear from the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, consisting of three sheets, Figure 1 is aside elevation, partly broken away, of a machine illustrating myinvention. Fig. 2 is a plan viewthereof, partly broken away. Fig. 3 isan end elevation of the cake-support, showing a pile of cakes thereon.Fig. etis an end view ofa filled bag'of cakes. Fig. 5 is a transversesection through the pusher-operating cylinder and associated parts onthe line 5 5, Fig. 2. Fig. dis a transverse section through thebagholder on the line 6 6, Fig 2. Fig. 7 is a detail section of thethree-way valve controlling the pusher-cylinder.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

Referring to the drawings, A indicates a support or table for a pile ofcakes, at one side of which is arranged a bag-holder, and at theopposite side of which is arranged a horizontal hydraulic cylinder 0,supported in in the cylinder 0 and carries at its forward end a pusheror head D, which travels back and forth over the support or table A.

In the drawings I have shown the packingmachine associated with anoil-cake-trimmiug machine and adapted to receive and pile the cakesdirectly from the latter, so as to avoid the handling of the cakes. Forthis purpose the support or table for the piled cakes is of the type ofreceiving and piling table shown and described in my application forUnited States Letters Patent filed November 30, 1900, and seriallynumbered 38,127.

E indicates a portion of the trimming-machine, in which the cakes arecarried byan endless carrier (2 past the trimming-knives,

'(not shown,) whichremove the soft edge portions of the cake, and thendischarged successively onto the support or table A. The latter isautomatically lowered intermittently as the cakes are fed thereto toretain the top of the pile of cakes at the proper relative height bysuitable mechanismsuch, for instance, as described in said applicationand which is as followsi The support is carried by an upright plunger orpiston F, working in a hydraulic cylinder f, which is provided with apipef for supplying fluid under pressure thereto, and an escape-pipe fconnecting with the supp -p p is a valve controlling the supply-pipe,and f is a valve controlling the escape-pipe.

An arm f arranged above the support or leave the trimming-machine,'isconnected to a rock-shaftf which is connected by a second arm f and arod-or link f with an arm on the escape-valvef. Each cake as it passesthe arm f raises the same and through the said connections opens theescape valve, which permits the plunger and support or table carriedthereby to descend until the arm f which rests on the uppermost cake ofthe pile, lowers sufficiently to close the escape-valve. The connectionsare adjusted so that the support or table lowers a distance equal to thethickness of a cake at each opentable A and in the path of the cakes asthey ing of the valve, and the operation is repeated for each successivecake. When sufiicient cakes have been thus piled on the support toapproximately fill a bag, which is indicated in any suitable mannerforinstance, by a gage-rod G, secured to one side of the support ortable-the escape-valve f is opened by hand and the plunger and sn pportare allowed to descend until a collar g on the plunger contactswith asuitable stop, such as the top of the cylinderf, in which position ofthe parts the top face of the support or table is on the horizontalplane of the bottom of the bagholder and somewhat below the lower edgeof the pusher D.

f indicates wide springplates arranged vertically at the sides of thesupport or table A. They are bowed in wardlyand center the cakes on thesupport or table and guide the pile when it is pushed from the supportor table into the bag.

f indicates longitudinal raised ledges or ribs at the sides of thesupport or table on which the side rakes rest for the purpose of raisingthe lower edges of the side cakes above the top face of the support toprevent their catching on the lower side of the bag when the pile ismoved into the same. The support or table may, if preferred, be anysuitable stationary support, and the cakes may be piled thereon by hand.

The means shown in the drawings for operating the pusher-plungerD is asfollows:

H indicates a pipe connecting with a branch pipe H for supplying liquidunder pressure to the cylinder 0, and H an escape-pipe connectedtherewith at the juncture of the pipes H and 11. Both the supply andescape pipes are preferably controlled ,by a three way valve or turnplug it, located at the juncture of the pipes. This valve is providedwith an operating-arm 71/, connected, as by a chain W,

to one arm of a substantially horizontal leverv 7L pivoted to a suitablesupport, preferably below the cylinder 0 and below the floor orsupportingsurface of the machine. The

outer or forward ,end of the plunger or thepusher is connected to theforward end of a.

chain or the like I, which passes over a pulley or sheave t', jou rnaledon any suitable support, such as one of the cylinder-standards, andcarrying at its other or lower enda weight or weights 1;. The chain Ipasses through a. loop or eye '5 on the other arm of the lever 71 andhas secured thereto below the lever an adjustable stop or trip device\Vhen it is desired to push the pile of cakes from the support or tableinto the bag which has been placed on the bag-holder, the valve-arm h isturned upwardly to connectpipe H with the branch pipe H or open thesupply-pipe, and this movement tilts the lever 72, to throw the loop endthereof down. The fluid entering the cylinder forces the plunger forwardor outward to the desired limit of its movement, when the stop or tripdevice 2' engages the loop 2' and returns the lever to its normalposition and through its connection with the valve h closes the same,cuts off the liquidsupply, and stops the outward movement of theplunger. When it is desired to return the plunger and pusher, the plughis turned to connect the escape-pipe with the branch supply-pipe H andpermit the escape of the liquid from the cylinder. The weights i thenmove the plunger inward.

J indicates a horizontal guide arranged between the forward end of thecylinder 0 and the rear end of the cake support or table at the heightof the upper face of the latter. The pusher is preferably provided atoppasite sides of its lower edge with casters or rollers j, adapted toroll on said guide and the cake support or table for preventing thesag.- ging of the plunger and guiding the pusher. The pusher ispreferably provided with a front metallic face-plate j, which projectsat its top slightly above the top of the pusher.

K indicates a removable or detachable upper section for the pusher, towhich latter it is attached by means of hooks or the like 7:, on theback of the detachable section engaging over the upper projecting edgeof the faceplatej of the pusher. The detachable section K is preferablyformed of sheetmetal and has its opposite ends turned forward to providevertical end flanges K for engaging the side cakes, as will behereinafter explained.

The bag-hold er is preferably constructed as follows:

L indicates parallel horizontal supporting timbers or pieces placed inthe rear of the cake support or table. The bottom, top, and side holdingplates or pieces for the bag'are indicated, respectively, at M, M, M andM and are preferably arranged as shown in the drawings. The bottom plateis supported at its opposite sides on the supporting-timbers Land isinclined or beveled downwardly at its front end, which ispivoted to theupper front corners of the timbers L in any suitable manner, as by meansof atransvetse rod m, secured to the under side of the inclined frontportion of the plate, and the ends of which enter sockets in thetimbers. The bottom plate is thus supported substantiallyon the level ofthe upper face of the cake support or table, and the front end isslightly below this level, so that the lowermost cake of the pile willbe guided thereby and slide easily on the bottom plate. The side platesM and M are arrangedvertically at the opposite sides of the bottom plateand above the same. The front ends of the side plates are preferablyinclined or flared outwardly, so as to guide the cakes into the holder.The side plates are secured in any suitable manner to upright posts N,arranged opposite each other, one out-side of each piece L. The lowerportion of each post N extends down through horizon tally-elon gatedslots n in upper and lower brackets n 72 secured to the adjacent timberL. The slots in the brackets permit the posts to move bodily toward andass through re istering holes in the tim-I hers L and the backs of thebrackets n n and act to hold the posts yieldingly in their innermostpositions or against the inner ends of the slots 01. (See Fig. 6.) Thecollars being loose on the posts permit the same to be turned or movedup and down in their brackets without moving the collars. The sideplates are held in their normal position, (shown in Fig. 2,)that is,substantially parallelby a transverse spring 19, the ends of which areconnected to the front ends of arms P, one secured to each post N andprojecting forwardly beside the adjacent. timbers L.

. The spring holds the arms P against the outer faces of the timbers L,which thus constitute stops for the arms. The rear ends of the sideplates are adapted to be swung in or toward each other for the purposeof placing the bag over the holder. Each post N is provided at or nearits upper end with a rearwardly-projecting arm 1), which arms arepressed toward each other to throw the rear ends of the side platesinward.

13 indicates a chain or the like connected to one arm and provided witha ring or loop p at its free end, which is adapted to be slipped overthe end of the other arm to hold the arms and plates in their innerposition.

The top plate M is preferably detachably hung, as by means of hooks g,on a trans verse rod Q, which is looselysupported above the top edges ofthe side plates by links q, pivoted at their upper ends, one to eachpost N. The top plate preferably tapers slightly toward its rear end toenable it to be more readily slipped into the bag and has its upperforward end bent or inclined upwardly, so as to guide the cakesinto theholder. The top plate normally occupies the inclined position indicatedin Fig. 1, and as the cakes are pushed into the bag the top of the pileengages the top plate and movesrit up until it is substantially parallelwith the bottom plate. The plates of the holder are preferably made ofsheet metal and, as will be observed, constitute, in efiect, anexpansible rectangular box or lining for the bag. The cakes in beingintroduced into the bag therefore cannot engage with the sides thereofand disengage the same from the holder.

In orderto enable the bag to be more easily placed on and removed fromthe holder, provision is made for raising the rear end of the bottomplate and the side plates up sufficiently to enable the lower side ofthe bag to be readily slipped under the same. The means shown in thedrawings for accomplishing this is as follows:

R indicates a treadle-lever secured intermediate of its ends to one endof a transverse rock-shaft r, journaled in suitable hearings or openingsin the timbers L, beneath the bottom plate of the bag-holder. The rearend of the lever engages beneath a fixed collar r on theadjacent uprightpost N. At the opposite end of the rock-shaft r is secured an arm T therear end of which engages beneath a similar fixed collar r on the otherpost N. It will thus be seen that by depressing the forward end of thetreadle-lever the rear end thereof and the arm r move up and lift theposts and side plates.

S indicates an arm secured to the rock-shaft 1" between the timbers Land having an upwardly-extending rear end, which engages the bottomplate M in rear of its pivot and tilts the. rear end thereof up when thetreadle is depressed.

In the use ot'the machine the cakes are piled automatically on thesupport or table A, as above described, directly from the trimmingmachine and the table lowered to the position indicated, or they maybe placed by hand on a stationary support or table. A cake is preferablyplaced vertically or on edge at each side of the pile,between the sameand the side retaining-springs) and resting on the raised side ledges fof the support or table. The top plate M of the bagholder is thendetached from its supporting-rod and removed from between the sideplates M M the rear ends of which are then swung toward each other bymeans of the arms 10 and are held in this inner position byvengaging thering at the end'of the chain 19 which is attached to one arm over theopposite arm. The treadle R is then depressed, which, as .beforeexplained, raises the bottom and side-plates, and a bag is slipped overthe holding-plates, preferably with its mouth or open end turned orfolded back. as indicated in Fig. 1. The treadle R is then released andthe chainring 19 disengaged from the arm 19, and the spring 10 draws thearms P toward each other until they are stopped by the timbers L, inwhich position the side plates stand substantially parallel and distendthe bag. The top plate M is then replaced on its supporting-rod in theinclined position indicated in Fig. 1 and the bag is ready to be filled.The turnplug it is then, turned by means of its arm 72' to admit thefluid to the cylinder 0 and cause the plunger to move out and carry thepusher across the support or table A, which pushes the cakes into thebag-holder. The length of movement of the plunger is sufficient to causethe forward end of the pile of cakes to engage the bottom of the bag andpush the same ofi of the bag-holder. The outward movement of the plungeris stopped by the trip device and connections,as already explained. Whenit is desired to return the plunger, the plug is turned so as to connectthe escape-pipe with the branch su pply-pipe and permit the escape offluid from the cylinder 0. The cakes vary somewhat in size, so that thepile may be somewhat larger in height or breadth than the crossdimensions of the bag. The side plates having flaring or outturned endscan receive the pile, and as the latter is forced into the bag-holder itforces the side plates bodily apart, which stretch or expand the bag.This bodily lateral movement of the side plates is permitted by reasonof the described manner of mounting the upright posts, to which theplates are secured. oted is free to rise as the pile is shoved into theholder, and if the pile is somewhat higher than the upper side of thebag the links permit the top plate to rise bodily without bending andraise or stretch the upper side of the bag for its full length. Theremovable upper section of the pusher insures the positive engagement ofthe pusher with the uppermost cakes and insures their movement with thepile. Before the plunger has reached the end of the stroke thedetachable section is removed, so that the same will not contact withthe bag-holder. The upright side flanges 7c of the detachable sectionengage the rear ends of the vertical side cakes and prevent theirdisengagement from the pusher.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination of a bagholder, a pushermovable toward and from said basholder, a vertically-movable support forthe cakes arranged between said bag-holder and said pusher, and meansfor holding the said cake-support in a position such that the cakesthereon are directly opposite to said bagholder, substantially as setforth.

2. The combination of a bag holder, a pusher movable toward and fromsaid bagholder, a vertically-movable support for the cakes arrangedbetween said bag-holder and said pusher, means for intermittentlylowering said support, and means for holding said cake-support in aposition such that the cakes thereon are directly opposite to thebag-holder,

substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with a support for the cakes, of means for holding abag, a pusher for moving said cakes from said support into the bag, asupplemental pusher-section, and means for supporting said supplementalsee- I tion on the pusher in position to increase the size of thelatter, substantially as set forth.

The top plate being piv- 4. The combination with a support for thecakes, of means for holding a bag, a pusher for moving said cakesfromsaid support into the bag, a pusher-section detachably secured to saidpusher, and means for operating said pusher, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with a support for the cakes, of a bag-holder, apusher for moving the cakes from said support into a bag on thebag-holder, fluid-operated mechanism for actuating said pusher, a Valvecontrolling the fluid for said fluid-operated mechanism, and meansoperated by a movable part of said mechanism for actuating said valve,su bstantially as set forth.

6. The combination with a support for the cakes, of means for holding abag, a pusher for moving the cakes from said support into a bag on thebag-holder, a fluid-operated means for operating said pusher, a valvecontrolling, the fluid to said means, and a device operated by saidpusher for actuating said valve, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination with a support for the cakes, of means for holding abag, a pusher, a plunger which, carries said pusher, a cylininder inwhich said plunger reciprocates, a valve controlling the supply of fluidto said cylinder, a trip device connected with said plunger, and meansactuated by said trip device for actuating said valve, substantially asset forth.

8. The combination of a support for the cakes, of means for holding abag, springs arranged at the sides of said support for guiding thecakes, and means for moving the cakes from said support into the bag,substantially as set forth. I

9. The combination with a support for the cakes, of means for holding abag, means for moving the cakes from said support into the bag, raisedledges at the sides of said support, and guides at the sides of saidsupport, substantially as set forth.

Witness my hand this 23d day of September, 1901.

. ALFRED W. FRENCH. Witnesses:

.TNo. J. BONNER, CLAUDIA M. BENTLEY.

